The Advent season as recorded in the Gospel of Luke begins with one of the most closely hitting stories to home that one could imagine. If we simply glaze over it, we can miss it. It is the story of a preacher (Zechariah) and his wife (Elizabeth) who must choose to trust God after years of disappointment during the intertestamental period, and ultimately see God bring a history shaping redemption as a reward for their faithfulness. As we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ today, we will see God's purpose behind our winter waits, acknowledge the power of consistency and embrace our redeeming Lord who brings beauty through it all.
Winter Weight
The wintry seasons of your soul where you feel like you are waiting on the goodness of God to be revealed can be God's shaping agent to make you the man or woman that you are created to be.
Luke 1:5-7 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Trial in life does not always equate to God's displeasure. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in the sight of God, yet were still denied for the purposes of God one of the greatest longings of their hearts. Where have you been in a waiting period and what is God using it to produce in you?
The purpose of trials:
1) Develop Sight
They show you Jesus more clearly.
Hebrews describes Jesus as becoming a merciful and faithful high priest to people through what He suffered (Hebrews 2:17,18). Through Christ's perfect life and sacrifice that would come on the cross, you are offered forgiveness, healing and restoration.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
God's goal is not that you would always remain in the place of trial, but that you would be sensitized to the plight of others and become a vessel of the comfort that God Himself will provide.
2) Develop Sympathy Trials are the mechanisms through which you develop genuine sympathy for others that you will inevitably lead.
It fosters empathy in you in regard to matters that otherwise in your undisturbed state would not concern you or you would have no concern for (i.e. - sickness, racism, financial struggle, etc.).
Zechariah would have this in spades as he helped lead the Israelites through 400 years of canonical silence from the Lord.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
3) Develop Strength
Proverbs 24:10 If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!
Through trial, you can also develop faith for the gifts and power of God to heal, both for yourself and others.
In this way, you learn to truly love others and offer genuine hospitality.
People pack on winter weight because they are not active. If you want to be all about that bass physically, that's fine, but in the spirit you need to remain lean and strong. Zechariah and Elizabeth understood this as they were pressing through their trials.
The Power of Consistency
Make no doubt about it, consistency counts. God hears every prayer, sees every deed and shows himself faithful to those who are faithful (Psalm 18:25,26).
Luke 1:8-20 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
We think that our obedience to God is only for us. We forget that it also for those who will come behind us (our children, family members, co-workers and friends).
One of the keys to building anything of value in life is consistency. Doing anything one or two times may make you feel good about yourself but most times it does not build anything that is weight bearing. That would be the exception and not the rule. Don't be a one hit wonder.
This is difficult as a concept for our generation to embrace because we live with a sense of entitlement, feeling that we should have, do and experience anything that we can imagine. Zechariah had to live above this self-absorbed thinking to be consistent in his service in the temple.
Our generation suffers from a stop and go syndrome. The kingdom of God does not operate that way.
If you want to build a deep relationship with Jesus or mutually beneficial relationships with His family, you will need to be consistent. If you want to build a Christ-centered business you will need to be consistent. If you want to build a godly family or have an incredible marriage, you will need to be consistent. If you want to build a kingdom-oriented career, you need to be consistent. If want allow Jesus to use you to build His church, you need to be consistent.
You need to set boundaries for your life and live within them. You can not, nor should you, do everything.
Psalm 16:6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Know what God intends to build with your life as a part of His church and give yourself wholly to that. Be consistent.
As time goes by, the challenges that you face in school, the marketplace and family life grow more, not less, intense. The decisions that you make to seek Jesus and His kingdom first have greater reaching implications because your decisions impact more and more people. The faithfulness of Zechariah and Elizabeth would ultimately shape John the Baptist who would be used of God to shape the entire nation of Israel in preparation for Christ's ministry.
Do you realize the weight of responsibility that Jesus has placed on your life, even in the midst of your trials? How will your decisions to pursue or not pursue Jesus and His kingdom affect your family? Your friendship group? Your work environment? The city? Your daily decisions as a thriving part of the kingdom community has greater impact than you realize.
Redeeming Lord
God will never waste the pain in your life, but will redeem it for His glory as you trust in Him.
Luke 1:21-25 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Don't waste seasons of trial and obscurity.
The season of righteous pain and longing in Elizabeth's heart was eventually redeemed by God's faithfulness. Her life became a testimony to both God's perfect timing and watchful eye camped in the magnitude of His purposes. Her story still speaks to you and me many centuries later.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stand in the midst of your trial and continue to pursue the Lord. Don't let disappointment into your heart because breakthrough tarries. Know that your Savior will bring breakthrough.
Second City Church- An Unexpected Journey Sermon Series 2014